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NEW YORK-Rundown warehouses, dodgy streets, and zero nightlife filled the city’s Meatpacking District back in 2003. A year later, the boutique hotel Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC, opened at 9th Ave. and W. 13th St. Twelve years later, the hotel is credited with sparking the transformation that turned the area into the definition of New Cool.

Price: $385 to $425 (U.S.) for a standard room, but check for deals. It is part of the Unlock NYC promotion, and currently has “Get Romantic” and “Get Suite” packages. You can always pop in for a meal or drink instead of staying the night.

Location: The Gansevoort is not just near the centre of the action, it is the centre. The High Line park starts three short blocks west on Gansevoort St. The art galleries of Chelsea are a 10-minute walk away and the Whitney Museum of American Art is just a few metres from the base of the High Line.

Dining: Steps away from the hotel is the members-only global clubhouse Soho House, with some of New York’s trendiest new bars and restaurants sprouting up on the surrounding streets.

But you don’t have to leave the hotel to have a good time and a great meal. The Chester restaurant caters to media and marketing execs, while Provocateur, the café and private nightclub, hosts some of the city’s most sought-after parties. The hotel even boasts a rooftop lounge, Zerzura, with 360-degree views of the Manhattan skyline and the Hudson River.

Comfort and design: This isn’t a tiny boutique hotel. Its 186 rooms cover 11 storeys. The rooms are spacious, especially for Manhattan, and the lobby, capacious. All the mod cons are at your fingertips, from luxury mattresses and soaps in your room to clad-in-black front-desk staff and a compulsory pool table in the lobby bar.

Downside: Walk two steps out the front door and you’re at the epicentre of Meatpacking 2.0. So if you want a little distance from the frying pan, this may not be the place for you.